Thill-coupling



(No Model.) Y

' J. N. BERRY. THILL GOUPLING.

No. 480,244. Patented Aug. 9, 1892-.

@QU may "fromm UNITED STATES JOSEPH N. BERRY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

PATENT OFFICE,

THlLL-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 480,244, dated August9, 1892.

Application liled February 23, 1892. Serial No. 422,478. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH N. BERRY, of Boston, in the county of Suffolkand State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements inThin-Couplings, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, makingpart of this specification, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of athill-iron and axle-clip coupled together and having my inventionapplied thereto. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section through thecenter of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section taken in thedirection of the line y y of Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a modification to bereferred to.

My present invention relates to that class of well-known devices termedanti-rattling thin-couplings, for connecting shafts or poles tocarriage-axles, my obj ect being to attain the maximum simplicity,compactness, and economy in the construction of. such devices forpreventing the disagreeable incessant noise incident to such connectionsnot provided with anti-rattling devices; and this invention consists inthe combination and arrangement, with the thill-eye and axle-clip, of abent spring and an adjustable screw passing through its lower portionand bearing against the under side of the thill-eye or against a plateinterposed between them for regulating the resiliency of said spring,the said devices being adapted for instant application to any thillconnection by any person having a nutwrench and without the exercise ofskill.

In the said drawings, A represents the axle and B the clip, securedtogether in the ordinary manner by nuts a a, turning over thescrew-threaded tangs o b, projecting from the lower ends of the clip.

O is the thill-iron, and c its eye, this iron being secured to thebifurcations el d of the clip by a screw-bolt D, having a nut e turningthereover, all being of well-known construction.

When a carriage is in motion, the friction `:between the eye of thethill-iron C and the connecting-bolt D will necessarily occasion wear ofthese parts and looseness of the joint formed thereby, resulting in anobjectionable constant .rattling and noise. To prevent the saidrattling, I preferably employ three devices constructed, associatedtogether, and applied to the thill-coupling as follows: A spring G, ofthe form seen in Fig. 3, is provided with a hole near its upper end forthe passage of the connecting-bolt D, one end of said spring beingsecurely held between the nut e and the outside of the contiguousbifurcation d of the clip and its other end extending down and beingbent at or nearly at right angles toits vertical portion, said lower orhorizontal portion being located beneath and at a short distance fromthe under side of the thilliron and being provided with a screw-hole hfor the passage of an adjustable screw H, to the upper end of which isfastened a metal plate I, preferably concave on its upper surface toconform t-o and tit the under cylindrical surface of the thill-iron C.When the spring G has been compressed by turning the adjustable screw Hso as to bring the plate I with the desired degree of pressure againstthe under side of the thill-iron,the tension thus obtained and thefriction of the plate against the thill-iron are preserved by tighteninga nut i against its seat-t'. e., the under side of the horizontalportion ot' the spring-which acts as a check-nut to prevent itsaccidental turning and the plate from relaxing its pressure.

The screw I-I is secured to the plate l by simply upsetting or expandingthe threads over the inner surface of the plate at the point ofconnection. The turning of the adjustable screw H, besides compressingthe lower portion of the spring in the direction of the thill-iron, alsoexerts a side pressure on the upper or vertical portion of the spring,the result of which is to bear unevenly on the inside of the nut e, thuscausing it to perform the function of a check or lock nut to prevent theconnecting-bolt D from accidentally turning.

The plate I (in light vehicles) may be omitted and the end,of theadjustable screw H be upset or spread out so as to form a bearingsurfacesufliciently extended to insure the required degree of friction betweenit and the under side of the thill-iron to prevent rattling. (See Fig.4.)

I am aware that springs have heretofore been applied to thin-couplings;but the lower or free end of the spring has been heldin contact with theunder side of the thill-iron and the pressure has been imparted directlythereto without the interposition of an adjustable device. The utilityof such springs cannot be permanent when applied to thill-couplingswithout some governing or regulating device. I therefore prefer tograduate the pressure of the spring from time to t-ime to compensate forthe wear and find that the adjusting-bolt is a necessary element incontrolling the resiliency of the spring. Without some compensatingmeans the spring by being worn (when in contact with the thill-iron)would vary in its resiliency or become set and rendered useless.

I prefer that my anti-rattling device should consist of the spring G,its adj usting-bolt H, and the plate I, as they are all connected andcan be conveniently handled as one piece7 which can be instantly appliedto a thill-coupling without skill by any person having a wrench andwhile the horse is attached to the shafts.

I claim-- l. As an improvementin thill-couplings, the combination, withthe thill-eye, axle-clip, and con meeting-bolt, of a bent spring G,having its upper ed attached to one side of the clip and its lower endlocated under but not in contact with the thi ll-eye, and an adjustablescrew H, passing through the said lower end and bearing on the underside of the tl1ill-iron, as set forth.

2. The bent spring G,with its screw-hole h, and having one end securedto one of the ears of the clip by the coupling-bolt I) and its other endlocated in a vertical plane under the thill-eye and out of contacttherewith, an adjustable screw H, passing through the hole 7L forregulating the tension of said spring, a concave plate I in contact withand kept in place against the ou ter surface of the thill-eye by the endof said adj usting-screw, and a check-nut 1l for preventing the screw IIfrom accidentally turningwhen adj usted, combined andarranged as and forthe purpose set forth.

fitness my hand this 12th day of February, 1892.

JOSEPH N. BERRY.

, In presence of- EDWARD P. OsBoRNE, WILLIAM S. FENTON.

